With Xbox and Bethesda's latest RPG, Starfield, now out, many are turning their eyes to the horizon. Far, far out there lies the studio's next projects, including the long-awaited, highly anticipated The Elder Scrolls 6 and Fallout 5, the next entry in the developer's post-apocalyptic sci-fi franchise. If we're lucky, they might even come out one day.
Bethesda says The Elder Scrolls 6 is "progressing really well," even if it's still "a long ways off;" undoubtedly, Fallout 5 is even more so. Regardless, something a lot of folks are wondering about is how the two games might shake up the studio's open-world design so that they feel distinct compared to the developer's other projects, such as Skyrim and Fallout 4.
PressBoxPR asked Skyrim design lead and former Bethesda dev Bruce Nesmith how he'd change things up in a recent interview, and he says if he was calling the shots, he'd make The Elder Scrolls 6 and Fallout 5 more dynamic and "fluid."
"I would probably look at having the world be more dynamic," he began. "Bethesda games in the last decade have become less dynamic in order to meet the needs of what the games needed and audience expectations, but to be able to have the world be more fluid, I think that would be very cool."
Nesmith is most likely referring to game elements that change or evolve over time as you explore and progress through the open world, with factions and NPCs that react to everything around them, including random events, quest outcomes, and player choices.
That ties directly into his second suggestion, which is that Bethesda should strive to make choices in The Elder Scrolls 6 and Fallout 5 "meaningful." Larian Studios' Game of the Year-winning 2023 RPG Baldur's Gate 3, he says, is a shining example of a game that does this well, and was lauded for it.
"I also think, to look at Baldur's Gate 3 and draw lessons from that mash hit, that part of what made it so popular is that it felt like all choices were meaningful because you made a choice and it made a big difference in your play," he suggested.
"Bethesda games have maybe pulled back from doing that a little bit. The focus is on putting your toys away [keeping different parts of the game separate and without consequences that carry over] but in these games you do something in the Thieves' Guild quest line that completely changes what becomes of the Mages' Guild, for example," he continued. "The world and the game is changed because of your choices. Have it make a real impact."
Ultimately, Nesmith believes that "the gaming community has spoken," and that fans are hungry for RPGs with deeper levels of reactivity and consequence. And given the success of games like Baldur's Gate 3 and Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, it's hard to argue against that notion.
One caveat to going in that direction is that certain pieces of content won't be playable in every single playthrough, which Nesmith says Bethesda actively tried to avoid with Skyrim. However, perhaps it's time for the studio to trade some of that open-endedness for a richer, more reactive world.
"That was actually an intentional thing in Skyrim. The thinking was that we spent time and effort making this content. We want to make sure the player can experience it all," he said. "That was done intentionally and I think those are good decisions. But as we're pointing out, every formula can get stale after a while, so maybe it's time to shake it up and do it a little bit differently and say all the content is available but you may need to do another playthrough to experience all of it."
Do you agree with Nesmith that The Elder Scrolls 6 and Fallout 5 should have more dynamism and reactivity to your choices? Or are you hoping that Bethesda will stick to more of its traditional open-ended formula? Share your thoughts in the comments.
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